Simply My Job
by 23a
Summary: AU. The Charmings conceded the kingdom to Regina. Emma grew up with stories about how she was a princess, but she was always just a bandit. After an accident in her youth, Emma makes doing the right thing her job, but not something she does because it's personal. But when they find a little girl in a carriage accident, she might be unable to separate "right" and "personal."
1. Prologue

_"Alright", Snow said. "Regina, you can have the kingdom. _

_And so it began. Emma grew up with the tale; the day her mother and father gave the kingdom to the Evil Queen. The kingdom did okay, though not as well as it would have under them. The only lives drastically changed were those of Snow White, Prince Charming, and the dwarves. And Emma. _

_"Emma, you're a princess", Snow always told her, as long as she could remember. "A true princess." But Emma didn't feel like a princess. She was a bandit, like Mommy and Daddy. And they lived in a small bandit camp with the dwarves and Robin Hood and his merry men. Emma loved her life, but certainly, she did not think of herself as a princess. When Emma was 2, little Neal came into her life. When she was 5, there was Nancy. When she was 8, Tommy was born. But it was when she was 16 that her life changed forever._

* * *

"Quickly, Emma, quickly!", Nancy yelled, her 11-year-old self much faster than the slightly preoccupied 16-year-old.

"Nancy, I'm coming!", Emma yelled back. She wasn't going fast because she was distracted thinking about a boy she had met yesterday, Bae. They had spoken only for a couple of moments, but Emma had found herself attracted to him. Nancy ran off farther, into the woods, and Emma couldn't see her anymore. "Nancy? Nancy?"

Suddenely, she heard her sister scream.

* * *

Emma was in the forest in seconds, running to Nancy. "Nancy?!"

"Emma!" Emma sighed with relief. Nancy had just tripped over a log.

"Nancy, are you okay?"

"No, I think I broke my ankle", Nancy said.

Emma looked. "You did... I'll have to carry you then."

Suddenely a crackling noise made both girls turn their heads, and a woman came out in a black gown. "Who are you?", Nancy asked.

"I'm Regina", the woman said. Regina... it was her. A young boy walked out of the woods.

"Who's this?", Emma asked.

"Please!", the boy said, "She's trying to take me!"

"You can't do that!", Emma yelled, grabbing the boy and putting him behind her. He ran away.

"You'll pay for that", Regina said. She raised her hands, all set to shoot magic at Nancy, but Emma stood in the way just in time. The spell struck her , and she collapsed, unconscious.

* * *

Emma woke up groggily back at the camp, with her mother above her. "Mom! What -"

Snow silenced her daughter. "Em, Neal was walking and he heard Nancy calling for help so he and Robin went out and brought you girls in. You're okay."

"Regina, she -"

"I know, Emma. She was trying to hit Nancy's head, but when you stood in front of it, it only managed to redirect a bit and got you in the stomach, so you lived."

"Barely", Emma muttered.

"Emma, you were a hero."

"Well that has to stop."

"What?"

"I nearly died, and worse, nearly lost Nancy, trying to help that little boy. Nancy almost got hurt, because I involved someone I cared about in doing the right thing. I have to separate those, for my sake, and for my family's."

"What does that even mean?"

"From now on, I don't do what's right because I care. If I care, people get hurt. From now on, doing the right thing is simply my job."


	2. The Way Life Goes

_I think I cried, that day. It wasn't fun, you know. But now, I'm glad it happened. Funny, isn't it? Guess that's just the way life goes. _

Henry smiled, and Emma did too. She hadn't been sure what to think when she'd found herself pregnant, at only 17. Her father had gotten so mad. He had nearly driven Baelfire out of the camp. But Emma wouldn't trade her son for the world. He was growing into such a great person, now 10 years old and learning to swordfight and ride horses. He was a great kid. She and Bae both took turns with Henry, but they didn't live together. Her father had practically threatened Bae at sword-point.

Now, Emma was off on her rounds of going about the kingdom, looking for anyone who needed her help. Her job. And nothing more. Suddenely, she heard a scream. She spurred her horse onward and raced towards the source. She saw the burning wreck of a carriage, with three bodies laying near it. She dismounted and went over to the bodies. There was a woman, a man, and a little girl. She checked the woman and the man. Both were dead. Then she went over to the girl. She looked maybe 6 or 7, perhaps a bit older. Emma checked. She had a pulse. She looked around at the carriage, the dead man and woman, probably the girl's parents. Better she wake up... not here. She picked the girl up and placed her on the back of the horse gently, and rode back to camp. She figured the girl must have been the one who screamed, right before going unconscious. She rode into the camp and carefully dismounted, then picked the girl up and brought her into her tent. She was already stirring. Emma waited patiently for her to wake up.

When she did, she looked around for a bit, panicked, and asked, "Where am I? Who are you?!"

"I'm Emma", Emma replied. "What's your name?"

"I'm... I'm Christine."


	3. Royal Inheritance

Emma smiled a bit. "Nice to meet you, Christine."

"Where am I?"

"At our camp."

"Camp?"

"Where we live. In the woods."

Christine gasped. "You're a bandit?"

"Well... to some people, yes. I'm a bandit."

"Mother used to say that bandits were bad."

"Used to?"

"She died last year", Christine said.

"Oh", Emma said. "I'm sorry." She was also confused. So at least one of those adults wasn't a parent of Christine. Who were they? "And what about your father?", she asked.

Christine shrugged. "I never met him. Mother said she wouldn't talk about him. One of our servants called it a fling."

Servants... so they were a well off family. "And who were the people you were with in the carriage?"

Christine made a face. "Stepfather and stepmother."

"Both?"

"Mother married stepfather when I was three, and about a month after she died he married stepmother."

"Only a month?"

"Well he never loved her."

"Then why did he marry her?"

"Because he wanted power."

So they had power too. "And how would marrying your mother give him power?"

"Well, she was a queen. So he became king."

"What? So you're a..."

"I'm a princess."

"Well, Christine, your stepparents are dead."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"They died in a carriage accident. I managed to get you out."

"But that means... if they're dead... I'm finally queen!"


	4. The Bandit's Way

"You're a queen?", Emma asked, shocked.

Christine nodded. "Rightfully, yes."

"Well then... we'll get you to the palace tomorrow."

Christine shook her head. "It's not that simple."

"What do you mean?"

"Andrew will try to take the throne."

"Who's Andrew?"

"My stepbrother. Son of my mother and stepfather. He's 5. But my stepfather's sister wants him to be the king, and she will push for it, and technically, he's first."

"Why?"

"Mother and stepfather were married. My parents weren't. So even though the throne is rightfully mine, the rules say Andrew is first."

Emma frowned. "Well, we'll help you take back the throne."

"Why would you help me?", Christine asked.

"Because", Emma said, "That's the bandit's way. We help those who need help and do what is right, regardless of rules. And we'll get you on the throne."

Christine smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

"Emma, you want us to overthrow a king?", Snow asked.

Emma nodded. "She deserves the throne."

"But it's not that simple... rules are rules... Andrew would have to abdicate, or be killed, and we're not killing a 5-year-old."

"We could get rid of the woman who's trying to get him on the throne."

"Emma..."

"Mom, I'm doing it. You in or you out?"

Snow sighed. "I'm in."


	5. Rebellion

"Emma, what you're planning is a rebellion," said Neal, "Whether or not the cause is righteous."

"Neal, if I was a queen and died, wouldn't you want Henry to have the throne?"

"Yes, but, you're not, Emma."

"I should be. I would have been, had my mother not given our kingdom to Regina."

"Emma, you're not planning to overthrow Regina, are you?"

"No, Neal, of course not. Remember what she did to me last time? I don't even want to imagine Henry getting hurt. But I am going to help Christine."

"You really care about this one, huh?"

"No, Neal. It's just a job."

"Sure it is."

* * *

"Emma!"

"Yes Neal?"

"Can you help me? Allie's being difficult again."

Emma sighed. "Sure." Allie was Neal's 3-year-old daughter.

After she had been calmed down, Emma asked her brother, "Neal? Do you ever wonder what it would have been like to have been raised as royalty?"

"Yeah, of course. But then I wouldn't have met Rachel and had Allie, and you probably wouldn't have had Henry. This is our life, and I love it."

"Yeah, me too. It's just an interesting thought."

"Sure is."

"Do you have any ideas about how to help Christine?"

"Yes, but it's not a great plan."

"What?"

"Well, the guy just died, and he was a king. So, there's probably going to be some big state funeral."

"And?"

"A gathering of all the important people in the kingdom. What better place to stage a rebellion?"

"Neal, that's a brilliant plan!"

"Um... thanks, I guess."

"Let's go tell the others."


	6. Rightfully Hers

"Emma, really?"

"What?"

"You want to crash a funeral?"

"Why not?"

"Because, it's impolite!"

"Christine deserves her kingdom!"

"Emma, why do you care so much?"

"I don't. It's just what right."

"For a young child to rule a kingdom? Really?"

"Mom, I know what I am doing. And anyway, this particular idea happens to be Neal's."

She sighed. "I'll talk to Neal."

* * *

Emma walked around until she found her sister. "Nancy!" she called.

The young woman smiled and turned around. "Emma, I think I'm in love," she said.

Emma raised her eyebrows. "Really? With who?"

"Edmund the Third. He's a lord."

"You want to marry a lord?"

"I want to marry Edmund, regardless of what he is!"

"Nancy, you're twenty-three. Head out of the clouds."

"Neal was my age when Allie was born! You had Henry at seventeen!"

"Yes, that's not recommended."

"Anyway, I heard you're helping Christine get back the kingdom that she deserves?"

Emma nodded.

* * *

Tommy looked up from the picture he was drawing. "Hey, Em. What do you need?"

"Can you draw a picture of Christine? It might help with my plan to get her back her throne."

"Oh, so you do care."

"It's a job, Tommy."

"Uh-huh, Em. Sure it is."

"Can you please draw a picture?"

"Yes, Emma, I can."

"Thanks, Tommy."

* * *

"Emma, are you sure you want to do this?" her father asked.

"Yes! Why is everyone against me?"

"It's just a little rash, is all. A whole kingdom? Taken over by bandits."

"You used to be a prince, and Mom is rightfully queen of Regina's kingdom."

"Is that what this is about?"

"No, Dad, of course not!"

* * *

"Mom?"

"Yeah Henry?"

"You're helping that Christine girl, right?"

"Yes, Henry, I am."

"That's cool."

"Thank you, Henry!"

"Why are you helping her take over a kingdom though?"

"Because," Emma explained. "It is rightfully hers."

"But isn't Regina's kingdom rightfully our family's?" Henry asked.

Emma frowned. "Yes, but Regina is too dangerous."

"If you'll help Christine get her birthright, will you help me get mine, too?"


	7. Rightfully His

"Mom? Dad?"

"Yes, Emma?"

"You were right. This isn't really all just about Christine and her kingdom."

"Then what is it about, Emma?"

Emma sighed. "Well, inheriting a kingdom is a birthright, and Christine's kingdom is hers. And, you guys gave me a birthright, which in theory, I would inherit, and then pass on to my firstborn child. This isn't really about Christine's birthright; this is about Henry's."

"You want to take Regina's kingdom back."

"No, Mom. I want to take _your _kingdom back."

* * *

"I knew it," said Nancy.

"Okay, little sis. Don't be so smug."

"Smug? Who's smug? Anyway, I have to go meet with Edmund."

"You be careful with Edmund, Nancy. You never know if he's secretly trying to trick you."

"Emma, I'm a bandit. I'm not falling for any silly traps."

"Just don't let Edmund start thinking he owns you."

"Like Henry owns the kingdom?"

"Shut up, Nancy."

* * *

Allie giggled and waved her fist in the air as Neal placed her down. "So, Emma, let me guess: you're admitting it was never really just about Christine."

"How-"

"Emma, you're my big sister. I know you better than just about anyone. And I know you realized that it's actually about Henry and his kingdom."

"So what if it is? He has claims to it."

"Emma, first of all, you and Mom have claims first. Second of all, do you really want to take on Regina?"

"To get Henry his birthright? Absolutely."

* * *

"Bae!"

He glanced over at her. "Careful, Em, if your dad sees us talking alone..."

"Ha ha, Bae, I'm 28; Dad doesn't control me anymore."

"Then why don't we see each other?"

"Because I'm afraid of what my Dad might do to you."

"Uh-huh. There it is. Anyway, Em, what's up?"

"Well... Henry and I were talking, and I decided I'm going to try and get the kingdom back for him."

"Emma, are you serious?"

"Dead serious. This is Henry's birthright. I'm getting it for him."

"Storm that castle and you won't just be dead serious, you'll be serious and dead. This is crazy."

"I don't care. I am getting my son what he deserves."


	8. Storm the Kingdoms

"I really don't think this is a good idea."

"Well, let me know when you have a better one."

"Emma, Baelfire is right," her father said, and everyone looked at him in surprise. "This might not work, and even if it does, what makes you think a seven-year-old can run a kingdom?"

"Better than a five-year-old."

"I guess so. But considering you know this isn't really about Christine, why go through with it?"

"It is about her, it's just _also _about Henry."

"Emma," said Snow gently. "Think about this logically. We're outnumbered."

"But they'll be distracted."

"The odds of success are fairly low," said Nancy.

"Don't you have a boyfriend to go talk to?"

"Um, if my sister is storming a kingdom, so am I."

"No, Nancy! You and Neal and Tommy all have to stay back at the camp!"

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Neal said.

"Neal, no. You could get hurt."

"So could you."

"It's different."

"I'm coming too," Tommy added.

"None of you should be doing this," said Snow. "I want all my babies safe."

"Who's watching Henry?" Emma asked suddenly.

"Rachel's watching him, too. Actually, I think she took them all out to pick berries." Rachel was watching Christine while they made their attack.

"Ok."

"So, we doing this, or what?" Nancy asked.

"I guess we're doing this. Tommy, you have the picture I asked you to draw?"

He nodded and handed it to her. "What's it for, exactly?"

"The picture is going to be a distracting for the woman, the one who's trying to put the kid on the throne. We'll put it in place of the picture of the king. Once she gets distracted, that's when we pull the kid out of the carriage and bring him somewhere safe."

''You really don't think she'll notice that?"

"I'm sure she will, but not in time to stop us."

"Ok, but once we have the kid, that's when we ambush the carriage?"

"Right."

"What makes you think she'll get Christine on the throne? They still have laws."

"If we threaten her life, she can make it work."

"Emma, this whole thing is super questionable," Snow said. "I'm not even sure Christine rightfully has claim to the kingdom."

"Why not? She's the queen's daughter. She's the oldest child of the monarch. That gives her the claim to the throne."

"But as soon as the queen died, Andrew technically became the king; he would have had his father as his regent. That means he's already the sitting king, and removing him would be complicated. Also, they have laws."

"Why does it matter that the queen never married Christine's father?"

"I'm not saying it should. But it does."

"Well, I never married Baelfire, but Henry would still hold the claim to our kingdom."

"Sure, but we don't have such a law."

"We might," said David.

"What?!"

"A matter for another time. Maybe Christine should have the throne. But is it really worth it?"

"It's her birthright."

"But Emma-"

"I am not having this argument again. We have to deliver the picture soon if we're going to distract the woman at the proper moment."

"Are you delivering the picture?"

"I guess so."

* * *

Emma placed the picture in the proper place and went back to the group carefully, waiting for the funeral procession to start.

"Who's grabbing the kid?" asked Bae.

"I can do that too."

"Emma, can you carry a five-year-old boy?"

"I could carry Henry until he was eight."

"Fine. Why did you even need us?"

"For the storming the carriage bit?"

"Right."

The procession began, and Emma went secretly up to the carriage. As hoped, the woman inside was staring at the drawing of Christine, too preoccupied to notice Emma grabbing the boy's hand and pulling him out of the carriage. He screamed, and the woman looked up, but they were already gone. Emma carried him safely over to a small clearing.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a small voice.

"Just stay here. You're safe here. Something is about to happen that's dangerous, but we wanted you here safely."

"Who are you?"

_Just a bandit. _But maybe not really. "I'm Princess Emma."

* * *

She carried the boy back to the castle and let him go in. "Did it work?"

"The woman agreed to try and put Christine on the throne."

"How'd you manage that?"

"We talked to her."

"Good. No harm had to come to anybody."

"This was still a horrible idea."

"I know. Now let's go do it to Regina."

* * *

"Regina!"

She whipped around. "Snow?" She chuckled. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Taking my kingdom back."

"Oh, really? You against magic?"

"Us," Emma corrected, stepping up behind her mother, her father, siblings, and Bae coming up behind her. "And I have magic too."

"Emma!" Snow said suddenly. "You've never been trained, and it's only come out in short spurts. This was your plan? To use magic?"

"Yeah, should I have mentioned that?"

"Yes, you should have mentioned that!"

"Oops. Come on, Regina, let's have a magic fight."

* * *

"You can't beat me," said Regina. "It's been a draw for ages."

"Yeah, but I have the motivation."

"The motivation?"

"I'm getting my son his birthright."

"You have a son?"

_Dammit. _"None of your business."

"If you want your son to be a prince, you could always give him to me."

"Are you crazy?!"

"Perhaps. But if you gave him to me, I would raise him as my own, and make him king someday."

"He's ten, he's been raised, and he won't go with you."

"I can change his memories and make him believe I raised him."

"You're insane. Why would I ever do that?"

"Well, your son would have what you believe is his birthright."

"No," said Emma. "I'm not giving you Henry."

"Henry?" Regina frowned for a moment, and in that moment Emma threw at her the weapon she had been concealing: A vial of fairy dust.

"Emma, where did you get that?" Snow asked, as they watched Regina crawl around as a bug.

"A fairy."

"Yeah, but-"

"Best not to question it. Let's put her in a jar and take our kingdom back."

**A/N: The end (This story kind of became ridiculous when I never intended it to be, so there's a ridiculous end and it's just going to be one of those silly ridiculous fanfiction stories, and oh well. Happily ever after for everybody). **


End file.
